Introduction to Skip Schumaker
ARLINGTON — On Friday morning, a fashionable 10 minutes later than scheduled, Chris Young strode into an underground interview room dwarfing his new manager and began the introduction of said manager, Skip Schumaker, with a formal greeting. That was his first sentence of the day. The second started with “Over the past year …” The importance of that cannot be overlooked. Skip Schumaker, the hottest managerial candidate on the market — if he’d gotten to the market — is wearing a No. 55 Rangers jersey now because of a year spent auditing the Rangers organization from top to bottom as a senior adviser. We use “audit” here as if he were a student observing a class for a semester; not as if he was checking for fraud.
Getting to Know the Organization
“A unique opportunity to really learn an organization like this for a full year just doesn’t happen,” Schumaker said in his own opening remarks. “I quickly learned the passion [president of baseball operations Young] has for winning and for doing whatever he can to make this a first-class organization. The alignment there is real. Our core values and what we expect every single day and making winning the most important part of our day is exactly who I am and what my family is about. And I believe in a winning culture.”
Experience and Preparation
Over the last year in which Schumaker served as a “senior adviser” to Young, he saw the big league team plenty. He’d drop in at least once a month. He’d sit in Young’s suite during the game and hear Young’s passion, and occasionally frustration. He got to know general manager Ross Fenstermaker similarly. It went well beyond that, though. He spent significant time at Double-A Frisco seeing top prospect Sebastian Walcott and the more advanced pitchers in the system. He spent time getting to know rising coaching star Carlos Cardoza, the manager at Frisco whose profile in the organization is only likely to grow. He talked hitting with Conner Gunn, the director of offensive initiatives and strategy.
Alignment and Expectations
“When you talk about alignment, the back and forth we’d have and the way we see the game, the standards and expectations,” Fenstermaker said. “It all crystallized pretty early in the process for me. In many ways, he’d see things I didn’t. Just having that time with him throughout the course of the year sharpened the way I see the game.”
Past Experiences and New Beginnings
Schumaker came to the Rangers last November after leaving the Miami Marlins skipper job before the Marlins could formally come up with an explanation for why they’d dismiss a guy who won NL Manager of the Year a year prior. But the Marlins history is littered with similar tales of the inexplicable. Anyway, Schumaker was going to take a year off from managing for a “reset.” The Rangers already employed one of his best friends in the game, Michael Young, in an advisory role. The Rangers had just lost their designated managerial succession plan when Will Venable took over the White Sox. And they had an older manager entering the final year of his contract.
Leadership and Vision
It would be easy to read all that and, given our predilection for conspiracy theories, wonder if the Rangers hadn’t hatched some kind of nefarious plot. Sometimes the truth is just simpler. It’s about staying prepared. And preparation is essential to success. Even Schumaker said that as part of his philosophy with the acronym CAPE: communication, alignment, preparation, execution. Maybe the Rangers can have CAPE capes made for batting practice next year. Then again, maybe not.
The Rangers saw the hottest potential manager in baseball come available after 2024 when the spot was still filled. They saw having Schumaker on board as both an asset for 2025 and a potential successor. They didn’t have successorship conversations until Young and Bochy closed the door on running things back in 2026.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Skip Schumaker’s introduction as the new manager of the Rangers marks a significant moment for the team. With his experience, alignment with the team’s values, and preparation, he is poised to lead the team towards success. His belief in a winning culture and his infectious energy make him an ideal fit for the role. As the team moves forward, it will be exciting to see how Schumaker’s leadership and vision shape the team’s future.
FAQs
Q: Who is Skip Schumaker?
A: Skip Schumaker is the new manager of the Texas Rangers.
Q: What was Schumaker’s role before becoming the manager?
A: Schumaker served as a senior adviser to Chris Young, auditing the Rangers organization from top to bottom.
Q: What does Schumaker believe in?
A:
